Recent trends in technology have provided for increased interoperability between devices. As computing devices have become more powerful, it is increasingly common for mobile devices to be used in roles that were formerly the domain of desktop and mainframe computers. Users are frequently able to employ smart phones and tablet computers to perform tasks that previously would have required bulky displays and hardware enclosures. One technological field in particular that has benefited from these advancements is that of medical diagnostics.
Medical diagnostic devices have traditionally required special purpose hardware and software to analyze diagnostic sensor input. Display and analysis equipment might, at best, be attached to a cart structure that provided portability throughout different parts of a medical facility. However, the proliferation of mobile devices such as tablets computers, netbooks, and smart phones has provided practitioners with lightweight, portable devices that also possess detailed displays and significant processing power. Some manufacturers have leveraged these mobile devices via display and analysis applications to eliminate the need for specialized display and analysis hardware for analyzing medical diagnostic data.
However, the use of these mobile devices also presents new challenges compared to the specially designed display and analysis equipment of the past. Mobile devices may have a constrained display area, making fine measurements and calibrations of data difficult. Limited display areas may seem cluttered and input operations may be difficult due to the low input resolution of some touch screen displays. These problems are particularly pronounced in scenarios where a practitioner is comparing two or more sets of data. For example, analysis of electrocardiogram (ECG) waveforms typically involves comparison of a previously captured waveform with a newly captured waveform in order to note any differences between the old waveform and the new waveform. Simultaneous display of both waveforms may require condensing of the display interface, making it difficult to analyze both waveforms at once. Similarly, it is difficult to compare sections of a waveform within a single waveform. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, Applicant has solved many of these identified problems by developing a solution that is embodied by the present invention, which is described in detail below